titre:Citizen Sensing
----
color: #00BCE4
----
id: citizensensing
----
imagehead: illu3.jpg
----
imagestart: IMG_4972.jpg
----
imageend:
----
text: 
## Dustbox sensor
In addition to sensing environments and pollution with plants, it is also possible to sense pollution with different types of digital and analogue sensors. The Citizen Sense research project investigates these different environmental monitoring practices. Citizen Sense has studied as well as built air quality sensors, including the Dustbox (pic-
tured here), which monitors particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5). The Dustbox is based on the shape of particulates when viewed under an electronic microscope, with cases in the form of pollen and contaminated soil particles.

There are many different technologies available for monitoring the air. Diffusion tubes are one of the most commonly used low-cost technologies for monitoring nitrogen dioxide (NO2). These are commonly placed approximately 2 meters above the ground on a lamppost or similar structure in the area to be monitored. The monitor-
ing period tends to be for 4 weeks, and the tubes are sent to a lab for analysis (for example, see http://www.gradko.com/environmental/products/no2-and-diffusion-tubes.shtml). You can find out more about how to use these technologies on UK DEFRA’s website: https://laqm.defra.gov.uk/diffusion-tubes/practical-guidance.html. 

The Dustbox technology developed by Citizen Sense is a digital real-time air-quality monitoring device. You can view the logbook for the Dustbox 1.0 used to monitor air quality in South East London at: http://dustbox-logbook.citizensense.net. The logbook includes instructions for monitoring, as well as resources for undertaking citizen air quality monitoring. Citizen Sense is currently devel-oping a Dustbox 2.0 version. For more information, see: http://citizensense.net/kits. 

For an overview of digital air quality sensors and toolkit, the US EPA has a comprehensive guide avail-able at: https://www.epa.gov/air-sensor-toolbox/how-use-air-sensors-air-sensor-guidebook. 

## Monitoring network
Citizen Sense has previously used the Dustbox to set up a community-monitoring network in South East London. From late October 2016 to September 2017, residents, work-
ers and volunteers hosted Dustbox devices and collected air quality data. With this data, we assembled data stories to communicate the findings from the citizen data. We found that traffic intersections can have significantly elevated levels of particulates, that construction activity can exacerbate these levels, and that the River Thames is also a pollution source. The citizen data also showed that well-planted areas can contribute to lower particulate levels.

For an example of how citizen data can help to identify where urban design projects such as air qual-
ity gardens could be most effective, see the Citizen Sense Deptford Data Stories at: http://citizensense.net/data-stories-deptford.

## Dustboxes in the City
While developing the Phyto-sensor toolkit, Citizen Sense located 3 Dustboxes to gather PM2.5 data in the City of London, including at the Museum of London entrance and Beech Street Tunnel. Citizen Sense has developed a DIY data analysis toolkit, Airsift, to analyze data and to document the direction from which pollution is travel-ing. Airsift is available to view at: https://citizensense.net/kits/airsift-dustbox. Dustbox and LAQN monitoring 
station data from these locations indicated higher levels of pollution near the Beech Street Tunnel. Traffic intersections were sources of both NO2 and PM2.5 pollution. The map included with this toolkit indicates the monitoring locations installed during this research, as well as prevailing direction of local and regional pollution sources. When planning an air quality garden, it is useful to document where the primary sources of local pollution are located, so that vegetation can be planted as a screen or buffer from these sources.